Detroit Film Theatre

A HIJACKING

Friday, July 19, 2013

7:00 PM Detroit Film Theatre

(Denmark/2012—directed by Tobias Lindholm)

On its way to harbor, cargo ship MV Rozen is seized by Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean. Among those on board are the ship’s cook, Mikkel (Pilou Asbæk), and the engineer, Jan (Roland Møller), who, along with the rest of the ship’s seamen, are taken hostage in a cynical and relentlessly suspenseful game of life and death. When a ransom demand for millions of dollars is issued, a psychological drama unfolds between the CEO of the shipping company (a scarily convincing Søren Malling) and the ruthless pirates. Deftly shifting between the claustrophobic life on the ship and negotiations with the freight company in Copenhagen, director Lindholm creates a climate of unbearable tension leading to a thoroughly unexpected climax. A Hijacking is based on a true event, and the use of actual locations and people who have been in similar situations create a sweaty, palpable authenticity. Augmented by a uniformly terrific cast, A Hijacking incisively and troublingly explores the danger of the disparity between impoverished nations and the developed world, while never abandoning the edge-of-the-seat genre roots at its heart. An audience favorite at the Toronto, Venice and New Directors/New Films festivals. (99 min.)